3 Tips to Master Your Brand’s WeChat SEO Optimization

Ever thought of optimizing your brand's WeChat SEO? Here in this article we will show you how.

Why WeChat SEO Optimization?

SEO is always one of the main focuses for brands to build up their presence. However, in China, SEO might be more difficult for brands as there is less visibility on the algorithm of major search engines. Yet that does not mean there is nothing brands can do to optimize SEO. In the article below, we will guide you through the tips for WeChat SEO Optimization. You can also check out WeChat projects we have done in the past.

As China’s “super app”, WeChat is not only for social messaging in China. Instead, the search engine of WeChat is often where consumers learn about products. For instance, they will search for official accounts and mini-programs of brands, and also Internet Word of Mouth of products. Optimizing SEO on WeChat is therefore important for brands to expand their presence in China.

Tip #1: Maintain an official account

The first step to optimize WeChat SEO is to maintain a WeChat official account.

A WeChat official account gives direct exposure to the brand. The official account of the brand should appear first when users search for your brand. To do that, you might want to maintain an official account to achieve better search ranks. Contents from an account that has a longer active history is likely to rank higher in search results. The search rank also depends on other factors: audience size of the official account, publication frequency, and originality of their articles.

Moreover, an official account is also essential to activate the Brand Zone function. The Brand Zone is a spot reserved at the top of WeChat search results which allows users to access the brand directly. It is therefore useful for brands to ensure the top spot in WeChat searches.

To activate Brand Zone, brands need to complete the following steps.

Verified by WeChat

Received trademark protection

Activated WeChat Pay.

Tip #2: Focus on relevance and content quality

Similar to other search engines, WeChat favors the most relevant content. When creating content, it is important for brands to ensure the keywords appear in article text and headlines.

Another metrics WeChat search focuses on is the viewer engagement rate. That includes clicks, impressions and post reactions. A higher engagement rate leads to a higher ranking on WeChat search results.

Tip #3: Invest in Various Search Properties

WeChat categorizes their search results just as Google does. That includes not only products, articles, and mini programs, but also results from Zhihu (Chinese Quora) and Baike (Chinese Wikipedia). Users can select which category of results they are looking for, and filter these results based on a number of factors. They include relevancy, most recently read, also posts followed and shared by WeChat friends. Brands should ensure there is relevant content on all properties to maintain a presence in all filtered views. For example, publishing content on Zhihu would be one of the methods to enhance WeChat SEO Optimization.